Reyes seeks tougher anti-carjacking laws

Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes vowed to push for the passage of tougher laws against car theft after a leader of a carjacking syndicate was able to post bail two days after his arrest.

"Our laws are supposed to protect our citizens, but sometime these laws are too loose, making them convenient for criminals. We will ask our lawmakers to add more teeth to these laws," said Reyes, the concurrent chief of the National Anti-Crime Task Force (NACTAF) that was formed to address the country’s problems on criminality.

Reyes, who earlier gave the Traffic Management Group (TMG) two weeks to curb car theft incidents, expressed confidence that its acting director, Chief Superintendent Augusto Angcanan, would be able to accomplish the task.

During a command conference at Camp Crame in Quezon City presided over by Reyes yesterday, Angcanan reported that suspected carjacker Randy Madrigal, the alleged leader of the Madrigal Gang, was able to post bail two days after his arrest last Saturday.

"The bad news is that after exerting effort to locate him in La Union, the suspect was able to post bail of P200,000," Angcanan said.

The TMG chief said, however, that they would be monitoring Madrigal’s movements.

Apart from the Madrigal Group, the TMG has been hunting down the Henzon Group , which has four active members, and the Lagman Group, which has 12 members.

The suspects operate in Metro Manila and the nearby regions of Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog.

Angcanan said measures have been set up to arrest car thieves and prevent them from carrying out their illegal activities.

The TMG reported that car thieves and carjackers continue to operate in Metro Manila because of the abundance of unattended motor vehicles parked at unguarded areas, the lack of police visibility and the huge volume of vehicles on the road at night,

Angcanan reiterated his appeal to the public to help them track down car thieves by reporting to authorities suspicious activities in their community.

"Just like other crimes, carnapping is not just a job for the TMG alone. We need thecommunity’s cooperation to prevent criminals from striking," he said.

CIDG nabs 15th most wanted man

Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has arrested the country’s 15th most wanted man, who has been tagged in a series of robbery incidents and killings in the country.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Arturo Lomibao said Roselo Villacora, who has a P500,000 bounty on his head, was arrested in Barangay Bagbaguin, Caloocan City by virtue of warrant of arrest issued by Agusan del Sur Judge Edmelito Andal.

Villacora was implicated in the killing of a policeman during a robbery at a Banco de Oro bank branch in Valenzuela City last Dec. 14 as well as eight other crimes.

Reyes commended the CIDG, under Chief Superintendent Ricardo Dapat, for the arrest of the suspect.

"The arrest will only be the start of our renewed, more intensified campaign against criminals, particularly those involved in heinous crimes," Reyes said.

He said the public would be seeing more police operations with positive results in the coming days.

"NACTAF will integrate the efforts of all law enforcement units and agencies for maximum result and synergy," Reyes said. – With Rhodina Villanueva